Challenge of the Gamesters (1981)
A forerunner to the new wave gambling films, this is one of Wong Jing's first hits--before he would go on to dominate Hong Kong cinema for the next two decades. Although rife with Japanese spies, Shanghai tycoons, beautiful starlets, and enough intrigue to keep 007 happy, Bond himself would be no match for the heroes' skill at mahjong and other games Hong Kong gamblers play--proving that the cube is often mightier than the baccarat card.
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One of my all time favorites.
Excellent but underrated film
It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.
It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny
This movie starts with a few men gambling in a casino private room. Wong Yu has some problems at the mahjong table then cut to Melvin Wong playing billiards. Wong and crew go to the pool parlor for a fight with cue sticks. The plot comes out as three of them are hired to get a list from a top gambler.This movie, more than anything else, is Wong Jing's directorial debut. His prolific career dominated the Hong Kong movie business for 20 years starting with this movie. Yes, he directed "God of Gamblers" of course! Patrick Tse steals the show as the top gambler for the good guys. Chen Kuan-Tai, former good guy in many earlier movies, now plays the antagonist. Wong Yu is along for the ride to provide most of the martial arts but outside of that seems a bit out of place. The gratuitous nudity, this time a perky pair of boobies, is revealed at about the 1:14:27 mark on my video file.My copy is a digital file with hard subtitles, wide screen and high definition. It is an excellent AVI format file and I have no memory of where I acquired it. I watched it for the martial arts and it is really an action/gambling genre but I was not disappointed in any of the fights. I recommend it for all fans and rate it above average.